FILE PHOTO: A Carrefour logo is seen on a shopping trolley at a Carrefour Hypermarket store in Montreuil, near Paris, France, February 5, 2018. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau/File Photo

PARIS (Reuters) - French retailer Carrefour is joining up with other with food companies including Danone to launch “MiiMOSA Transition”, a crowdfunding project to help farmers switch to organic farming, in response to rising consumer demand for socially responsible practices.

Food groups Herta as well as French food co-operatives d’Aucy and Les Paysans de Rougeline are also part of the project that will help producers upgrade their farming, livestock rearing and crop-growing practices.

The partners will help fund an initial 10 million euros ($11.4 million) worth of projects, with the goal of reaching 100 million euros within four years after other partners join.

Carrefour, Europe’s largest food retailer, has increased its focus on organic food, under a global five-year plan to boost sales and profits. It has also adopted blockchain ledger technology to track and trace chicken, eggs and tomatoes as they travel from farms to stores.

Danone is the world’s biggest yoghurt company and its CEO Emmanuel Faber has said he wants Danone to play a central role in the new trends sweeping the global food industry. Faber is also a member of Carrefour’s food advisory committee.